Australia electricity prices jump on carbon scheme

SYDNEY Australian electricity prices jumped almost 10 percent on Thursday after the government announced a revised plan to make polluters pay for their carbon emissions from 2012.

The electricity futures contract for calendar 2012 for the mining state of Queensland was up A$3.32 at A$40.50 per megawatt, after the government said it would begin with a fixed-price carbon scheme from mid-2012.

Australia relies for coal-fired power for 80 percent of its electricity generation.

Trending Stories

Sponsored Topics

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: